InsaneJournal

Their meeting with Simon yielded very little in the way of answers. Joel and Carolyn’s investigation of the device from the window gave them precious little more.  The mini transmitter trigger was higher tech than anything they had ever seen before. The tear gas canister attached was fairly run of the mill and would have been enough to cause widespread panic but no real damage or harm to anyone. But that whoever had set-up and placed the devices had felt the need to add a white noise generator to each device in order to mask the tiny amount of sound each would make - it was just odd.

 

Of course neither the bomb squad captain, nor the forensic specialist could fathom why the bomber had put so much effort into disguising the device from prying eyes. Blair had a suspicion, naturally, but he couldn’t very well voice his thoughts to those assembled, now could he? Jim’s barely perceptible nudge to his arm told Blair that his partner was thinking the same thing he was. The would be thief had to be up to something else.

 

Jim was looking over the trigger when he snapped his fingers suddenly. “This reminds me of my time in the military. I was a liaison to the C.I.A. counterinsurgency unit. This is definitely some of their stuff. Whoever our thief is, he has, or had connections.”

 

Simon snarled as he removed his glasses and rubbed his eyes. “All right, Jim I want you and Sandburg to head home, get some rest and come into this tomorrow with fresh eyes.”

 

Jim nodded and soon he and Blair were out the door and headed home. When they arrived in their parking spot, Blair growled softly. “My car…”

 

“Is at the university,” finished Jim. He reached over and squeezed Blair’s arm. “Don’t worry, Chief, we’ll swing by and pick it up tomorrow.”

 

Blair nodded and sighed as he climbed out of the truck and walked with Jim back to the loft. As they climbed the stairs, Blair asked Jim about his perceptions where the smoke bomb was involved. “I mean, you saw it out of nowhere, Man. I can’t imagine what you were thinking.”

 

Jim paused on the second floor landing, wrapped an arm around Blair’s shoulder and ushered him up ahead of him a moment. “Well here’s the weird thing Chief. I was walking along, almost in the building when I could have sworn…”

 

“Sworn what, Jim?” asked Blair as he turned back to the man. But Jim’s face was unfocused and he appeared to be zoned on something. Blair reached out a hand to gently caress Jim’s cheek. “Jim, come back to me.”

 

The Sentinel’s eyes remained unfocused a moment longer, then one hand came up to cover Blair’s and the eyes refocused on his own. Blair sighed quietly as Jim came back, only to stiffen again as the cop whispered to him, “There’s someone in the loft.”

 

Blair wanted to ask how Jim knew this, but he was gently placed behind the cop as Jim went to open the door with his gun in hand. He gently opened the door and stepped in cautiously, then froze as a gun was placed against his right temple. Blair made as if to run when he heard a voice call out.

 

“I wouldn’t do that if I were you, Mr. Sandburg. Unless you really think that Detective Ellison is Superman, in which case a bullet should bounce right off him.” The voice held such an air of scorn and disdain that Blair had no doubt the man attached to the hand with the gun would pull that trigger, kill Jim and the come after him without a moment’s hesitation.

 

“Right, not going anywhere. Go ahead Jim, I’m right behind you.” He was pretty sure that’s NOT what Jim wanted, but not everything worked out right away. Jim said nothing, but stepped in as ordered and placed himself between the gun and Blair. The Shaman didn’t argue, keeping himself out of the line of sight, but looking over his partner’s shoulder to see their enemy.

 

The dark haired man smiled as he ushered the two of them into the loft and over towards the sofas. “Well, I must say you exceeded my expectations, Detective. I was sure that the white noise generator would cause you some trouble this afternoon.”

 

Jim shrugged and Blair kept his mouth shut as the mystery man waved a hand in the direction of Jim’s weapon. “Hand it over, Ellison.”

 

The cop did as he was told, shifting to keep Blair behind him. “So, who the hell are you anyway?”

 

The man chuckled quietly. “Lee Brackett. As I said, I am suitably impressed by your abilities. I’m sure you are exactly what I am looking for.”

 

Jim effected a bored expression and Blair could tell it irritated Brackett. He hid his own smile as the man snarled. “Don’t you want to know why I attempted to steal the virus from the lab?”

 

“Why should I? You didn’t manage to take it, even with the white noise generator.” Jim sneered as he waved a hand behind him towards the lamp that sat on the low table by the sofa. Blair noticed the gesture for what it was. He leaned around Jim to ask his own question.

 

“Yeah, what was that all about, anyway?” he asked as he wrapped his toe around the power cord.

 

Brackett chuckled, “I admire your insatiable curiosity. Without that, who knows? Maybe you wouldn't have uncovered Ellison's sentinel abilities. I know about your special talents.”

 

Blair gazed back with a blank expression on his face. Jim canted his head to the side, wearing an equally blank expression. “Excuse me, what?”

 

Brackett glared. “You know what I am talking about. Think about it a moment.”

 

Jim shifted over to the other foot, his hands on his hips. “That white-noise generator was pure C.I.A.”

 

“C.I.A.? But why steal the virus?” asked Blair again. Brackett snorted.

 

“It was a bargaining chip, Mr. Sandburg. I want Mr. Ellison to help me commit a crime. They'll be talking about it for years.”

 

“Yeah, only you didn’t manage to get your bargaining chip. So I guess that means you need to fall back on another plan,” smirked Blair. “Therefore this little gloat session is useless. Why are you really here?”

 

“I was C.I.A. duty officer five years ago in Peru. I debriefed the Special Forces officer who pulled the Detective here from the jungle.” Bracket blathered on. Blair rolled his eyes.

 

“So what? You think Jim’s covert ops training can help you with this, whatever you are on about?”  Blair grumbled, keeping his expression in check. This asshole was not going to walk out of here with thoughts of Jim being anything than what he really was. A damn good cop with detective’s instincts to envy, and nothing else.

 

But Brackett didn’t seem to be biting that theory. “The officer’s report on Ellison's hallucinatory behavior in the rain forest was fascinating. I filed away the information for future reference and kept an eye on his career here in Cascade -- yours too. I read an early undergraduate piece you wrote on primitive sentinels.”

 

Blair shrugged as Brackett went on, “The description fit Ellison to a "T". I'm glad you two hooked up.”

 

Jim shifted restlessly, “Get to the point, Brackett.”

 

The rogue smiled, “Well, the point is you two are going to help me steal something.”

 

“Wait a minute, both of us? “ interrupted Blair, his eyes narrowed.

 

“Well, you're his guide, so to speak, so I'll need you too.” Brackett explained. Blair rolled his eyes as Jim chuckled.

 

“But you’ve lost your bargaining chip. No virus, no blackmail.” Blair edged a bit further behind Jim, using the Sentinel as a shield while preparing to shift his foot and tumble the lamp. Jim held his ground, his focus on Brackett. The terrorist continued to babble.

 

“Something you will learn, I always have a backup plan. Surrounding the city, there are several bombs set to go off at a certain time if I don’t turn them off before then. Only I have the code. “

 

Jim took a step to the left, Blair ripped the lamp down plunging the room into darkness and  Brackett cursed. Blair backed himself against the wall, knowing that he was useless in the darkness. Edging along the wall, he found one of the light switches and listened to the struggling of the two other men. At one point, Blair heard someone yell, “Catch!”

 

Pounding feet out the front door told Blair that Brackett was gone and he cautiously flipped on the lights. Jim held a backpack, which he unzipped to find a bomb ticking away. He immediately turned it around and pulled one of the wires, disarming it instantly. He tossed the pack on the table and raced out of the loft.

 

Blair went to investigate the bomb, noted that the LED on the display showed ten seconds, and sighed with relief. He then went and phoned for Joel and the others to come for the bomb, and new statements. They now knew who was after the virus, and his intentions for Jim… and himself. He sighed as he sat heavily on the couch. Life was definitely getting frustrating.

 

o-O-o

 

It was while waiting for Joel to take the bomb that Blair suddenly had an idea on who he could get information for. So while Jim was writing up his statement and making some calls in to his contacts in and around D.C., Blair went to check on his friend, Jack Kelso.

 

Jack had once been in ‘The Game’ like Brackett, but after a mission gone bad, Jack was let go. He took his knowledge and shared it with the world. Not everyone was happy with the enlightenment. Now he was a teacher in Foreign Affairs at the University. And he was only too happy to help Blair with his little Rouge problem.

 

So when Blair arrived with a big black book of names, dates and inside information on several rouge and double agents working in and around the United States. He also brought Jack along with him, to make him feel better about exposing himself and his information to the local law. Jim was impressed, after he made a slight fool of himself about reading Jack’s book. Blair bit his tongue, it wouldn’t do to upset and embarrass the big guy. It was his night to cook, after all.

 

After some more discussion, Jim reported his new leads to Simon, who showed Jim the report from Joel on the bomb he had disarmed. It had the same characteristics of the previous device and only served to confirm Jim’s earlier suspicions. Of course, Blair wasn’t impressed. He left the station early to pick up some items from the store, meeting Jim later on at home.

 

The big guy was reading the book Jack left with them, while stirring a pan of pasta primavera, a dish he knew Blair raved over. Blair grinned as he locked the loft and took off his jacket. “Smells good, man. You learn anything new yet about this Brackett guy?”

 

“I feel like I’m just spinning my wheels until Brackett tells us what he wants.” Jim sighed as he turned another page. He turned the flame down, glanced at Blair, and went upstairs for a moment, returning with a large flannel shirt that he slipped on to Blair. The grad student smirked as he read the book upside down.

 

“Well, he could have left something here that we missed. Maybe we just need to see where he’s been to get an idea of where he’s going.” Blair muttered as Jim stirred the pasta again.

 

“The Lab guys—“

 

“The Lab techs can only find so much with their normal senses, Jim!” snarled Blair as he grabbed the book and slammed it shut. He reached over and placed a lid on the pan, his eyes locked on Jim’s. “You have an advantage, remember? Use your nose, sniff around… spread yourself out a bit and see what YOUR senses tell you.”

 

Jim ducked his head in chagrin. “Forgot…”

 

Blair shook his head. “Silly Sentinel. Trust yourself, man. And if you can’t trust that… trust me?”

 

Jim’s head snapped up as he focused on Blair. “Of course I trust you.”

 

Blair snorted, “Yeah ok. So, use those senses of yours.”

 

Jim nodded and carefully scanned the room, stopping at a spot on the floor where Brackett had stood. He knelt down to look carefully in the crack of the floor. “Hand me your Swiss Army knife, Chief.”

 

Blair handed it over and Jim prized out a splinter of wood that he looked at carefully. “Kelso's dossier on Brackett said he had a real jones for South American food, right?”

 

Blair nodded, “Right, right. That stuff always gives me indigestion.”

 

Jim smiled as he held up the tweezers with the sliver of wood, obviously a toothpick. “He must have tracked this in on his shoes. It's chile pepper.”

 

Blair held his tongue as Jim sniffed it and then tasted the wood. “There's something metallic in the mud. It's not much, but it could tell us where he's been.”

 

Blair held out an evidence bag for Jim to drop the toothpick into. “You are a braver soul than I am, Jim.”

 

The Sentinel smirked just as the phone rang. It was from Simon, something about a gas attack at the music center downtown. Jim gave the evidence over to Blair with instructions to give the sample to Carolyn and to get back home immediately. For some reason, Blair felt deep concern over Jim going off alone. He felt even more concern forgoing off on his own to the station, but he couldn’t say why.

 

o-O-o

 

Carolyn was all smiles when Blair strolled into the lab with the evidence bag. “Look what we found at the loft!”

 

Carolyn looked at the toothpick dubiously. “Hmm, how did we miss that?”

 

“No telling,” replied Blair as he handed it over, “But Jim’s so meticulous, I know it wasn’t there before that Brackett guy came to visit.”

 

Carolyn smiled, “I remember, he was forever cleaning up after me. Drove me nuts. You would think that someone like me, who was forever analyzing the evidence left by other people, would want her home so clean you could eat off the floors. But I felt it was a personal affront to my house cleaning skills.”

 

Blair hitched his hip on the counter next to him. Samantha walked by and smiled at him, he smiled back before turning his attention back to Carolyn, who was watching the interaction with interest. She grinned as she leaned in to whisper in his ear, “I think she likes you, but I’d watch out if I were you.”

 

Blair glanced at Samantha, then turned back to Carolyn, “She’s very nice.”

 

“Nice, and snarky. The last boyfriend she had was a guy in Vice. He mentioned she had a problem with guys who couldn’t handle commitment.” Carolyn began working on the toothpick, keeping her back to the lab tech as she chatted with Blair. “Personally I see her as shrewish, but then I was no better when I was married to Jim. Constantly raising the bar and expecting him to jump it to gain my respect.”

 

Blair turned as well and settled more firmly on the counter. “But not now? You act differently towards him now, how come?”

 

Carolyn smiled faintly, she was always doing that around him. Blair rather liked it. “Over a year of counseling to figure out that half our problems were mine to deal with. So I have been dealing with them.”

 

Blair nodded. “And what happens when you have them dealt with?”

 

Carolyn canted her head to the side. “Why? Are you afraid that I’ll steal him back from you?”

 

Blair bit back a laugh. “You think Jim and I are…? No, Carolyn. We are strictly working partners. Roommates, buddies, pals. Nothing else happening between us, I promise.”

 

Carolyn turned away a moment to reach for a bottle of solution. When she turned back she sighed, “Oh well… too bad.”

 

Blair frowned as he hopped off the counter and walked around to the other side of her, heading towards the door. “Okay, well I better get back. Jim had to run out and I think it had to do with Brackett. I’m heading home to finish reheating dinner. Call Jim when you get anything back from that.”

 

Carolyn nodded and smiled when he brushed soft lips against her cheek before leaving the lab.

 

o-O-o

 

After calling Jack from Jim’s desk to update the man on the status of the case, Blair headed down to the garage to get his car and go home. He had just left the elevator when he heard Nunie growl. Glancing around, he searched for the source of the sound.

 

“Nunie?” he whispered. “What’s wrong?”

 

He had no time to get answers when he felt an arm wrap around him from behind, and a sharp pain in his shoulder. Damn, the CIA approved version of the Vulcan Nerve Pinch. He had just enough time to think that the move was something he could have guessed Brackett would be proficient with before the blackness fell and he knew no more.

 

o-O-o

 

When next he woke, Blair found himself on a dust covered floor, his hands and feet tied and a gag wrapped around his head. Just how he liked to wake up after being knocked out. At least his kidnapping was going according to normal procedure.

 

Now, next on his list would be to find out who kidnapped him, listen while the blow-hard blurts out his plans and secrets, then wait around until Jim showed up to stop the bad guy. Piece of cake, right? Nunie sniffed from the corner and Blair raised his eyes to glare at him. Ok, so the Wolf was with him, where was the cat?

o-O-o

 

Bagheera sat on the top of the truck watching his human talk to other humans about the bodies of the victims inside the building. Wonderful, it seems that the bad human, Brackett, set up his gas attack after all. But the question remained, if he wasn’t here to gloat to Jim, where was he?

 

There was a shrill ring from his human’s pocket which caused him to pause and remove the phone he always carried. He answered it tersely. “Ellison.”

 

The feline could not hear the person on the other end of the line, but his human appeared to be interested in what was being discussed. “Ok, so what about the metallic taste?”

 

There was more spoken from the other end and the human named Jim ducked his head, cheeks reddening in embarrassment. “Yeah, well I was just testing a theory.” More conversation from the person on the other end. “So, start checking out local South American restaurants that are near areas of highly concentrated iron oxides. And tell Sandburg to stay there until I… what do you mean he’s not there?”

 

Jim listened a moment and then nodded his head knowingly. “Yeah I remember, thanks Caro.”

 

He pressed a button on the phone, presumably to shut it off, and then began punching in more buttons. Bagheera’s skin began to crawl as he climbed to his feet. Something was wrong. He turned and watched Jim place a call, and then shut the phone off yet again. He dialed a number and waited patiently until it was answered. “Simon, it’s me. Have you seen Sandburg?”

 

Obviously the answer was in the negative if the scowl on Jim’s face was any indication. “He was supposed to drop some evidence off with Carolyn an then head home. He told Caro he was headed that way almost half n hour ago.”

 

More words from Simon and Jim’s face became even tighter. “No, Simon. I know I can trust him, if he says he’s going to be at a certain place, he is. Look, Brackett said something about knowing I was a Sentinel; he said that he wanted both Blair and me to help him with this theft… He thinks Blair is some sort of ‘Guide’ for me.”

 

Simon must have said something to Jim’s liking as the human quickly made his way to his truck, preparing to climb in. Bagheera slipped into the back seat to enjoy the ride as Jim finished his call and snapped the phone shut. Yes, something had indeed happened to the Shaman this time. And it was now up to the Sentinel to rescue his companion.